


More Than Family

by Anonymous



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Adoption, Canon Disabled Character, Child Neglect, Cute Kids, Disabled Character, Fluff, M/M, Orphanage, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 20:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15396921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: They knew they were ready to add to their family, make a child's life better for the future. They weren't prepared for how hard it would be to choose just one.





	More Than Family

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a birthday present for a friend <3

The building seemed to stretch on for ages, old bricks piled ontop of eachother with no rhyme or reason coming together to create the disheveled outside of the orphanage in front of them. Bucky glanced at Steve beside him, who was staring at the building, seeming to be unable to keep his eyes in one place. They moved from the broken sign in the front where the words “Darlings Orphanage” was barely legible , to the cracked window panes, to the overgrown grass that seemed to have become one with the building itself. The bright smile that had covered Steve's face since early this morning, when they had got the call that they were okay to come to the orphanage had started to waver, and Bucky reached forward to grab the nervous man’s hand,

“We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty Steve,” Bucky said as he gripped the blonde man's hand tighter. He felt the hand in his squeeze back before his hand was released and an arm started to make it’s way around his waist,

“I know Buck but god, it’s painful to think children live here.” Bucky felt him shudder beside him, and Bucky sighed, stepping forward and starting to walk towards the building, pulling Steve behind him,

“It’s better than the streets.”

Steve didn’t respond,  but Bucky heard his unhappy sigh as they continued along the chipped cobblestone road, making there way towards the archway that would signal that they had officially arrived at the place they had been waiting to go for over a year.

“Just think,” Bucky said, taking a deep breath to reacquire some of his lost confidence, “By the end of today one less kid’s going to have to live here,”

He took another breath,

“And we’re going to be dads.”

 

*

Contrary to the plain outside, the inside of the orphanage was filled with life.  Weary looking adults moved swiftly through the halls as children of all sizes ran around in an unorganized chaos. The walls of the building didn’t look much better than the outside, chips could be found on every corner, and the main difference that Bucky noticed was that many of the walls had some sort of chalk picture draw across them. Pictures of animals, the sky, and city streets danced across the uneven brick, and Bucky watched sadly as a small, dirty looking boy began to draw a small family on the wall beside him. Moving slightly away from Steve's warm arm, he had started to crouch beside the boy, to ask him what his picture was about when he heard a deep cough from behind him. Bucky straightened up and moved quickly back to Steve’s side, looking up towards whoever had made the noise. 

The man standing in front of them had the same weariness on his face that seemed to cover every adult within the orphanage. His slightly wrinkled face was contorted into a bright smile however, and despite the weariness in his face, Bucky could tell from his eyes that he was happy. The man stepped forward and reached out his hand,   
“You must be Steve and James, we’re so glad you decided to come here, I’m Kevin, the head of Darlings Orphanage.” 

Steve took the man's hand first, shaking it in the calm determined demeanor he seemed to be able to do almost anything. The man stretched his arm out towards Bucky next, and the brown haired man reached forward with his good arm, holding his metal one behind him subconsciously. 

“We’re really excited to be here,” Steve responded, his smile from earlier beginning to return, “We really can’t wait to get started.”

Bucky nodded in agreement, and Kevin smiled at them,

“I’m glad, and trust me we’re as excited to have you here as you are to be here, if not more.” The man’s smile seemed to sadden as he spoke, but soon the brightness returned and he gestured towards the doorway beside him,

“This is my office, I’ll just have you step in here, and we’ll discuss the details and the paperwork. Then the two of you can start to look around, and find someone you want to bring home.”

Kevin stepped into his office and left the couple in the hall to themselves for a moment. Bucky glanced towards Steve and sent him a confident smile,

“We’ve got this. If both of us can survive the war, we can survive paperwork.”

Steve grinned back and nodded his agreement, moving towards the doorway in front of them,

“Let's just hope neither of us loses an arm this time,” he replied with a laugh, and Bucky laughed with him, following him inside.

 

*

The meeting was quick and painless, and both men decided quickly that they liked Kevin, The older man took them through the details of the process of their adoption (something both of them had gone over themselves multiple times before), and showed them the paperwork that would need to be filled out before they left. Next he handed them a map, and explained to them how the orphanage was set up.  
“There's a boys hallway and a girls hallway” the man had said, pointing out each on the map as he spoke, “The ages can range from 1-16, and a caretaker lives in each room. But, you’ve arrived around play time so most of the children will be scattered throughout the building.” Kevins smile had began to sadden again before he had continued to speak, “I know you’ve been through the entire process” he had said, “but I need to remind you, many of these children have never been in a situation where they can feel safe. They will need love and care, more so than other kids. You’ve made it here so you’ve been screened and considered safe but as a reminder from one caretaker to another, take care of whoever you choose.”

The meeting ended soon after that, and Bucky and Steve were quickly ushered out of the office and told to explore as they wished, and to take their time. Bucky felt Steve grab his hand and squeeze it reassuringly as they began to walk down random hallways, and he smiled to himself.

Neither of them we’re totally sure on how they we’re going to pick a child. If they could, they would take every single one but they knew that was impossible. Regardless the idea of only being able to help one of the kids broke both of their hearts, and made the decision process even harder. They continued to wander the halls, passing children left and right and trying to decide who they should stop to talk to, and who they should pass by. The children had begun to notice their arrival and Bucky could hear their excited high pitched whispers throughout the halls. When they arrived in a large looking common room Bucky decided to take a break and sat down, watching as Steve started to walk throughout the children, interacting and talking with anyone who wanted to speak with him. Bucky smiled adoringly as he watched his boyfriend crouch down beside a group of young looking girls and pick up a toy pony, instantly being integrated into their pony game. He became so distracted by the young girls excited squeals that he almost didn’t notice a small familiar looking boy come up beside him, sitting on the floor with a box of crayons and beginning to colour and draw on a blank piece of paper.

The boy had over grown black shaggy hair, that was matted in place along his scalp. He seemed no older than three, and he continued to colour determinedly as Bucky studied him. He wore plain jeans and a cute race car shirt that covered most of his dark skin. A strand of his hair fell into his green eyes, and Bucky subconsciously reached forwards to push it out of his eyes.The small boy flinched and looked up in shock, seeming to notice Bucky for the first time. Bucky did his best to smile comfortingly and slid off the bench, landing a few feet away from the child.

“What are you drawing?” he asked, trying his best to break the ice with this small determined child. The boy studied him for a second, before seeming to be happy with what he saw and holding up his drawing silently. Bucky did his best to stifle a gasp at the picture he was shown. It showed a small family standing together in front of a small house. There was an obvious mom and dad in the picture, both made to be at least three times taller than the two children beside them, and both with matching jet black hair. The smallest of the two drawn children beside them was obviously the small boy in front of Bucky, smiling proudly as he held up his picture. On the other side of the two parents was a slightly shorter girl, who seemed to be older than the younger boy but not quite the height of the parents drawn beside her. Bucky smiled at the boy,

“Is this your family?” He asked, thinking nothing of the question

The boys eyes seemed to sadden almost instantly, and he pulled the picture away quickly, shaking his head.

“No more, not no more.” He muttered quietly, and Bucky almost punched himself. How could he be stupid enough to ask a question like that while sitting in an orphanage?

Attempting to fix things he smiled comfortingly at the child again,  
“It’s a very pretty drawing though. Are you in it? Could you show me?”

The boy studied the man in front of him again, and brought the picture slowly forward. The boy pointed hesitantly and the smallest stick figure in the picture, and Bucky grinned,

“Wow that’s amazing!” He told the boy genuinely, “Could you tell me your name?”

The boy was about to speak when he heard a voice behind him,

“His name is Petre”

Bucky turned quickly in surprised to see a young black haired girl standing in front of him. He could tell instantly that she was related to Petre, and was more than likely the girl in the drawing he had made. She had the same jet black hair and darker skin tone, and the only difference was that her hair was longer and wavier, and her eyes were a darker green. She seemed to be about 12 years old, and stood suspiciously staring at the brown haired man in front of her,

‘He’s my brother, why are you talking to him?”

Bucky would have smiled at the evident protectiveness in her voice if he couldn't tell how serious she was being. In order to ensure she knew he straightened up quickly and held his arm out towards her,

“My names Bucky, and that man over there is my partner, Steve,” He pointed towards the blonde haired man in question, and gestured for the man to come towards them. Steve stood up quickly and made his way closer,

“I’m actually talking to your brother because we’re hoping to adopt someone today, and he looked like a very lovely child.”

The young girl listened to him intently, following his eyes the whole time and seeming to judge every word he said. She smiled at his compliment towards her younger brother, but quickly replaced the smile with a more serious face ,

“My names Tamika, and you can’t adopt him.”

Steve had just arrived right behind them, and spoke first,  
“We can’t adopt this little bundle of joy here?” He asked, moving towards Petre on the floor, and instantly getting the boy to smile when he made a silly face, “Why ever not?”

“Because,” she continued, speaking a matter of factly “I’m his sister, and if you adopt him you need to adopt me. And no one wants to adopt anyone over 10 years old.”

Bucky watched as Steves face instantly became as serious as the girl in front of them,

“Well of course, we could never separate the two of you.” Steve told her, glancing at Bucky to see the man's reaction. Bucky nodded at him to continue, “But I don’t think me and Bucky here made any rules about age, did we Buck?”  
‘No,” Bucky replied quietly, smiling at the girl, “We didn’t.”  
Tamika regarded them curiously, but seemed to decide she liked their answer and moved to sit beside Bucky on the floor. She sat quietly for a few moments as Bucky helped Petre finish his drawing, adding clouds to the sky. Suddenly she looked towards Bucky for a moment and gasped,

“Your arm is metal!”

Bucky cringed, glancing at the arm in question and nodding, attempting to figure out a way to explain this to a 12 year old, “Well you se-” but he was quickly cut off with Tamika pulling off her shoe to reveal her foot,

“Look, my foot is metal just like yours! I call it my robot foot, and i’ve decided it makes me even more powerful because metal it strong, so that means i must be strong too!”

Bucky grinned largely at the girls enthusiasm and brought his arm towards her, showing off how it moved and watching her eyes go wide in wonder. He looked towards Steve for a moment and nodded again. The blonde haired man smiled back at him and it was in that moment that he knew their family was going to get bigger today, even bigger than they had originally planned.

**Author's Note:**

> (I don't actively ship stucky so I hope this is ok)


End file.
